“I DON’T LIKE EXERCISE”
“I’M ALLERGIC TO EXERCISE”
“EXERCISE DOESN’T WORK FOR ME”
“I’M NOT A GYM PERSON”
These are all things we hear on the daily here at Canberra Allied Health. And I get it!
For a lot of people exercise can prove to be a painful, sweaty, breathless, exhausting and an expensive experience. How many of us donate our money to gyms like they are a charity?! It can be tricky to find a form of movement that you genuinely enjoy and look forward to doing. Especially if you never knew it was possible to find something enjoyable in the first place! If you’ve never been an ‘exerciser’ or a lover of activity, it’s likely that at one time or another you’ve carried the misconception that exercise is just something you need to suffer through but will never enjoy.
When I ask people about their exercise it is not uncommon to hear someone say “I hate the gym, but I force myself to go anyway”. And often they are surprised by my negative reaction to this approach. Because, believe it or not for many of you, I am a big believer in finding exercise that you ENJOY and that makes you feel great!
Now don’t get me wrong, that’s not always easy. It sometimes takes months of trial and error to find that perfect form of movement. It can take many attempts and perhaps even a bunch of free trials at a few different locations. Sometimes a journey to finding the right form of movement for the right person can involve research and perseverance and persistence (from you but also from us at your side the whole step of the way). Perhaps you need to try a few different pools in your area to find the one that suits you the most. The one with the right price-point, temperature and accessibility that also has the right class times or lane availability at the time when you want to go (because there is nothing worse than clashing with swimming lessons or aqua classes when you just want a relaxing swim). And this takes time!
Too many people will go to the pool once and tell me it wasn’t for them, but with some gentle nudging often it’s not swimming or pool based movement that was the issue, it was just all the other elements that molded their experience on that particular day. Same goes with gyms, yoga and pilates studios and sporting teams. One thing can rub you the wrong way but that doesn’t mean that you suddenly hate that form of exercise forever and it’s off the table, we just need to look for other instructors, other studios, other times or even create a brilliant home program that you look forward to doing!
The point is, don’t rush the process and don’t give up easily. The journey to finding enjoyable exercise can take time. But we will get you there, we always do. And once you find something that you enjoy and that slots into your lifestyle, physical capabilities and budget easily, you won’t need to wait for motivation to appear to do it. And the more you do it, and the better you get at it, the more you will enjoy it and want to keep going. Action breeds motivation, not the other way around.
So if you are stuck in an exercise rut, or you can’t think of the last time you have loved a form of movement, get in touch – we can help you get there! It just might take us a bit of time, patience and effort!
